There are three main theories about the cause of Du Fu's death. One is "death by eating beef and white wine", the second is "death by drowning", and the third is "death by illness". Whether Du Fu died of illness in the boat, died of beef and white wine, or was buried in water has not yet been finalized, and remains to be further explored by researchers.
How does beef and white wine cause death? This question has given rise to different interpretations. As early as before the Two Tang Dynasties, Deng Chujie of the Tang Dynasty had such a record in "Miscellaneous Records of the Emperor of Ming Dynasty": "As soon as I wrote a poem to the slaughterer, the slaughterer then sent the cow to roast the white wine to leave the legacy. After drinking too much, It happened overnight." It can be seen that both Tang books adopt this theory, but they do not clearly explain how the beef and white wine caused his death. Deng Chujie made it clear: Du Fu ate too much and died of swelling. Later, those who studied Du Fu either agreed with Deng Shou or opposed him. In his book "Li Bai and Du Fu", Guo Moruo believed that Du Fu did die from beef and liquor, but it was not "death" but poisoning.
As for the theory of drowning, it was first seen in the "Addition to Du Shi" written by Li Guan of the Tang Dynasty. There is a sentence in this book: "The water in the Xijiang River surged and it floated away due to surprise. It is not known where the body fell." Many people think that this statement is pure nonsense. Later, there are many theories in the world. They all accused him of false accusations. Even so, some people imagine that Du Fu drowned himself in the sand like Qu Yuan. Because in this way, "the three wise men (referring to Qu Yuan, Li Bai, and Du Fu) have returned to the same water". However, this imagination has no basis at all, and it is not worthy of further investigation.
Many researchers still insist on the view that Du Fu died of illness in a boat on the Xiangjiang River. They have given reasonable explanations for the various records and legends about the cause of Du Fu's death.
In April of the fifth year of the Dali calendar, Du Fu, who was poor and sick in Tanzhou, fled with his family in a hurry. Unexpectedly, the river suddenly swelled and he was unable to sail, so he had to park in a square field. Du Fu was here without food for five or six days. After the flood receded, he ordered people to search for Du Fu on the river, but no trace was found, so it was concluded that Du Fu was buried in the flood.
Later, due to the records of "Minghuang Zalu", "Du Chuan Supplement", and old and new "Tang Shu", there were legends such as Du Fu's death by beef and white wine, and his death by drowning.